Wireless workflow system

ABSTRACT

A wireless workflow system for a print shop having multiple printing components includes a workflow controller and a positioning systems associated with each printing component. A wireless local area network provides communications between the workflow controller and each positioning system, such that each positioning system provides a relative position of the associated printing component to the workflow controller.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to printing apparatus and methods forprinting. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to printingapparatus and methods for printing in a large-scale print shop.

With the advent of modern lean manufacturing methods, informationprocessing systems, and the Internet, manufacturing facilities areincreasingly gaining the ability to acquire, process, and utilizeworkflow information. For example, many current print shops includeisolated machines that do not interface well with internal computersystems.

Companies often organize these machines in patterns and arrays within aworkspace that are not optimal from an efficiency and cost standpoint.Conventional printshops are also often organized in a manner that isfunctionally independent of the print job complexity, the print job mix,and the total volume of print jobs passing through the system. Forinstance, the machines require operators to load/unload jobs, monitorjob progress, pass jobs on to a next station, and commence a new job.In-between each of the steps, each job is commonly stored in storageareas awaiting the next step of the job. An experienced manager plansand schedules each machine. Typically, a job card that specifies thesteps needed to complete the job, the steps already completed, and theorder of the steps, accompanies the job. An operator manually adds thedata regarding job completion to a job card, or sometimes simply holdssuch information in his or her memory for a period.

A disadvantage of conventional printshops is that excess inventoriescaused by buildups between job steps increase overall job costs. Thelack of real time information concerning the contemporaneous state ofthe machines and the jobs leads to less efficient plant utilization, andhence lower productivity. Companies cannot easily split large jobs intomore efficient smaller job lots because of the difficulty in trackingthe more numerous smaller job lots. If a mistake occurs, the typicalresult is to discard an entire job lot. The larger the job lot size, thegreater the potential for substantially more waste.

However, production print shops are moving toward computer-integratedmanufacturing (CIM) to provide repeatable, less error prone, end-to endworkflows. Automated production print shops will soon use variousnetworking technologies to provide instructions and job parameters todrive equipment and manage resources. These networks will allow enableddevices to be connected together and participate in a CIM workflow.There are a number of legacy devices that currently do not fit thismodel and would need to either be, replaced with new equipment orretrofitted to provide integrated support.

Also placing computer equipment on a shop floor is problematic as manyprint shops are unionized. There are different wage scales for each jobon the floor and a machine/computer operator would be paid more thanjust a machine operator. Many machines in a print shop are alreadycomputer controlled but it is not the same as a PC interface connectedto the machine.

Production print shop floor managers will be faced with new challengesas their environments move towards computer control. Although computerscan provide for automation for many production processes humaninteractions will still be necessary. A print shop manager will need tobe equipped with a new set of tools to perform his/her work.

SUMMARY

There is provided a wireless workflow system for a print shop havingmultiple printing components comprises a workflow controller and apositioning systems associated with each printing component. A wirelesslocal area network provides communications between the workflowcontroller and each positioning system, such that each positioningsystem provides a relative position of the associated printing componentto the workflow controller.

A print shop repository includes a database having a record for eachprinting component. Each record includes at least one field associatedwith identification information for the printing component and a fieldfor recording the relative position of the printing component. The printshop repository may be disposed in the workflow controller.

The positioning system may be an indoor positioning system or a tabletpersonal computer. The tablet personal computer includes an operatorinterface adapted to operate the associated printing component.

The wireless workflow system may further comprise a mobile wirelesslocation aware device in communication with the wireless local areanetwork. The mobile wireless location aware device is adapted formonitoring any printing component having an associated positioningsystem. The mobile wireless location aware device may include a readingdevice adapted for reading a job ID associated with a print job.

There is also provided a method of managing a print shop having multipleequipment assets. The method comprises periodically querying thepositioning system of each print shop equipment asset over a wirelesslocal area network. Data received from each positioning system inresponse to the query includes location information and identificationinformation for the associated equipment asset. It is determined whetheran inventory database contains a record for the equipment assetassociated with the identification information. If the inventorydatabase does not include a record for the equipment asset associatedwith the identification information, a new record is added and theidentification information and location information for the equipmentasset is stored in the new record. If the inventory database includes arecord for the equipment asset associated with the identificationinformation and the location information received from the positioningsystem is not identical to location information stored in the record,the location information is updated.

There is further provided a method of managing a print shop havingmultiple equipment assets. The method comprises maintaining an inventorydatabase of the equipment assets. It is determined what types of printshop components are required to perform a print job. The inventorydatabase is queried to determine what print shop component assetsqualify as a required type of component. A print job planner is accessedto determine the availability of the qualifying component assets.Available qualifying component assets are assigned to the print job inthe print job planner, which then outputs a job description that isexecuted in a workflow controller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure may be better understood and its numerous objectsand advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art byreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a print shop wireless workflow systemin accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method of maintaining an inventory ofprint shop equipment assets in accordance with the present disclosure;and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method of planning a print job inaccordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the drawings wherein like numerals represent likeparts throughout the several figures, a print shop wireless workflowsystem in accordance with the present disclosure is generally designatedby the numeral 10.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a CIM enabled book production systemincluding a print shop wireless workflow system in accordance with thepresent disclosure. A wireless local area network (WLAN) 12 connects aworkflow controller 14 with a positioning system 16 mounted on eachcomponent/asset 18, 18′, 18″ of the book production system. It should beappreciated that the positioning system 16 mounted to each component 18,18′, 18″ may provide the relative position of such component 18, 18′,18″ to the workflow controller 14 on a continuous, real-time basis, on aperiodic basis, or may be manually prompted to transmit the relativeposition in the event that the location of the component is changed.

A print shop repository 20 includes a database having a record for eachbook production system asset 18, 18′, 18″. Each asset record includesfields for identification information for the component and a field forrecording the WLAN position of the component. The identificationinformation may include the type, model, capabilities/specifications forthe component or any other information that may be useful for operatingthe book production system. The print shop repository 20 may be locatedin the workflow controller 14 or may be a stand-alone computer unit.

The positioning system 16 may be any wireless location aware device,such as a third-party indoor positioning system or a tablet personalcomputer (PC) 22 having positioning capability. If a tablet PC 22 isutilized, the PC may determine, via the WLAN 12, the appropriatesoftware to run to provide the equipment operator with the necessaryinformation to setup the machine. If the equipment 18, 18′, 18″ has aninterface compatible with those provided by the PC 22 the operator couldbe provided with an interface to operate the equipment 18, 18′, 18″directly. For example the Horizon™ BQ-330 perfect binder and theChallenge Titan™ trimmer provide a RS-232 interface to set-up andprogram the device for operation. It should be appreciated that if apositioning system is utilized as the wireless location aware device, atablet PC 22 or similar device must also be utilized if an operatorinterface is desired.

With reference to FIG. 2, in the event that the relative positions ofthe print shop equipment assets are monitored on a continuous orperiodic basis, the workflow controller 14 initiates an enquiry 24 toeach printer system component 18, 18′, 18″ connected to the WLAN 12 by apositioning system 16. In response to the enquiry, each such positioningsystem 16 determines its location and transmits 26 a signal, comprisingidentification information for the print shop component 18, 18′, 18″ towhich it is attached and the location of the component, to the workflowcontroller 14 over the WLAN 12. For each such signal, the workflowcontroller queries 28 the print shop asset database to determine whetherit contains a record for the component 18, 18′, 18″ associated with theidentification information. If the print shop asset database does not 30include a record for the component, the workflow controller 14 adds 32 arecord and stores 34 the identification data for the component 18, 18′,18″ and the position of the component in the appropriate fields of therecord.

If the print shop asset database already includes 36 a record for thecomponent 18, 18′, 18″, the workflow controller 14 may then query 38such record to determine whether the component location informationincluded in the signal is the same as the location information stored inthe record. If the component has not been moved 40, the componentlocation information included in the signal will be the same as thelocation information stored in the record and the workflow controllerwill loop back 42 to initiate another position enquiry 24 to the printshop components 18, 18′, 18″. If the component has been moved 44, thecomponent location information included in the signal will not be thesame as the location information stored in the record and the workflowcontroller will update 34 the position information, storing the newcomponent information in the appropriate field of the record, and thenloop back 42 to initiate another position enquiry 24 to the print shopcomponents. The workflow controller 14 may also report 46 that the printshop component has been moved from its previous location. Alternatively,the workflow controller 14 may simply update 48 the positioninformation, storing the new component information in the appropriatefield of the record, and then loop back 42 to initiate another positionenquiry 24 to the print shop components.

A mobile wireless location aware device 50, such as a pocket PC, carriedby a print shop manager could operate in a mode that allows the managerto monitor work on the shop floor as he/she moves through the shop. Forexample, via the WLAN 12, the manager could stop near a wirelessworkflow enabled binding station 18′ and view the current role of thedevice without disturbing the operator. The manager could then accessthe planner 52 to determine which trimmer apparatus 18″ was scheduled tobe used for the print job currently in the binding station 18′, and thenaccess such trimmer apparatus 18″ to view its status.

Many pocket and tablet PCs 50, 22 have multimedia capabilities and thesefeatures may be used to enable a new set of communication and managementtools for the print shop. For example an equipment operator could accessan application to page the shop floor manager. An application running onthe manager's handheld device 50 would monitor and answer the page. Byusing speakers and microphones in the wireless devices a direct line ofaudio communication could be established between the two partiesallowing them to communicate. Also the user interfaces on each devicecould be used to share and collaborate other types of information.

The pocket or tablet PC 50, 22 may include apparatus for reading the jobID (barcode, rfid) and then use the ID to access job parameters on thewireless network. Using these parameters the PC 50, 22 can then directthe set-up and programming of the device. The PC 50, 22 may provide adirect connection to the machine if such an interface is supported. Ifthe device has no support for this type of connection the multi-mediacapabilities of the PC 50, 22 could be used to provide the machineoperator with the necessary information to set-up the device.

In addition to the print shop asset database, the repository 20 alsoincludes a database for storing information related to the job requestssubmitted to the print shop. The workflow controller stores persistentjob status information in a manner that allows access to suchinformation as the print job is processed. One method of storing suchdata is with a print job database of the type described in U.S. Pat. No.5,436,730 to Hube, issued Jul. 25, 1995 (hereby incorporated byreference).

With reference to FIG. 3, the shop floor manage 54 can select 56 a joband plan it against currently available shop resources. The job plannerfirst determines 58 what type of print shop components are required toperform the selected print job. The planner then queries 60 the printshop asset database to determine what print shop components 18, 18′, 18″meet the requirements for the selected print job and then queries 62 theworkflow controller 14 to determine the availability of the print shopcomponents 18, 18′, 18″ that qualify for the selected print job.Finally, the planner assigns 64 the best available, qualified print shopcomponents 18, 18′, 18″ to the print job. The planner produces as outputa job description that can be executed by a workflow controller 14.Execution of the job results in a computer controlled orchestration ofspecific processes (prepress, print, bind, trim) to produce a perfectbound book. By adding a wireless interface to the binding and trimmingequipment the services provided by these machines can now be fullycoordinated in a CIM workflow.

One of the benefits associated with this technique is that the job manybe rerouted to another device with out the need for regenerating jobprogramming sheets. Also changes in up stream process may effect theset-up and programming of a down stream step in the workflow (e.g.selection of and alternate print stock).

It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Also thatvarious presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

1. A wireless workflow system for a print shop including a plurality ofprinting components comprises: a workflow controller; a plurality ofpositioning systems, a one of the positioning systems being associatedwith each printing component; and a wireless local area networkproviding communications between the workflow controller and eachpositioning system, whereby each positioning system provides a relativeposition of the associated printing component to the workflowcontroller.
 2. The wireless workflow system of claim 1 furthercomprising a print shop repository including a database having a recordfor each printing component, each record including at least one fieldassociated with identification information for the printing componentand a field for recording the relative position of the printingcomponent.
 3. The wireless workflow system of claim 2 wherein the printshop repository is disposed in the workflow controller.
 4. The wirelessworkflow system of claim 1 wherein the positioning system is an indoorpositioning system.
 5. The wireless workflow system of claim 1 whereinthe positioning system is a tablet personal computer.
 6. The wirelessworkflow system of claim 5 wherein the tablet personal computer includesan operator interface adapted to operate the associated printingcomponent.
 7. The wireless workflow system of claim 1 further comprisinga mobile wireless location aware device in communication with thewireless local area network.
 8. The wireless workflow system of claim 7wherein the mobile wireless location aware device is adapted formonitoring any printing component having an associated positioningsystem.
 9. The wireless workflow system of claim 7 wherein the mobilewireless location aware device includes a reading device adapted forreading a job ID associated with a print job.
 10. A method of managing aprint shop having a plurality of equipment assets, the methodcomprising: maintaining an inventory database of the equipment assets bydetermining a position of each equipment asset with a positioning systemassociated with the equipment asset, and storing position informationfor each equipment asset in the inventory database; and planning a printjob utilizing the inventory database.
 11. The method of claim 10 whereindetermining the position of each equipment asset includes: querying thepositioning system of each print shop equipment asset over a wirelesslocal area network; and receiving data from each positioning system overthe wireless local area network in response to the query.
 12. The methodof claim 11 wherein the data received from each positioning systemincludes location information and identification information for theassociated equipment asset, and the method also comprises: determiningwhether the inventory database contains a record for the equipment assetassociated with the identification information; adding a new record ifthe inventory database does not include a record for the equipment assetassociated with the identification information; and storing theidentification information and location information for the equipmentasset in the new record.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein if theinventory database includes a record for the equipment asset associatedwith the identification information, the method further comprises:querying the record for the equipment asset associated with theidentification information to determine whether the location informationreceived from the positioning system is identical to locationinformation stored in the record; and storing the location informationreceived from the positioning system in the record for the equipmentasset associated with the identification information if the locationinformation received from the positioning system is not identical tolocation information stored in the record, and querying the positioningsystem of the print shop equipment asset over the wireless local areanetwork, or querying the positioning system of the print shop equipmentasset over the wireless local area network if the location informationreceived from the positioning system is identical to locationinformation stored in the record.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein ifthe inventory database includes a record for the equipment assetassociated with the identification information, the method furthercomprises: storing the location information received from thepositioning system in the record for the equipment asset associated withthe identification information; and querying the positioning system ofthe print shop equipment asset over the wireless local area network. 15.The method of claim 10 further comprising monitoring operation of a oneof the equipment assets with a mobile location aware device over awireless local area network.
 16. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising: accessing a print job planner with a mobile location awaredevice over a wireless local area network; identifying which equipmentasset is scheduled to be used next for a print job; and accessing theidentified equipment asset to determine the status of the identifiedequipment asset.
 17. The method of claim 10 wherein planning the printjob comprises: determining what types of print shop components arerequired to perform the print job; querying the inventory database todetermine what print shop component assets qualify as a required type ofcomponent; accessing a print job planner to determine the availabilityof the qualifying component assets; and assigning available qualifyingcomponent assets to the print job in the print job planner.
 18. Themethod of claim 17 wherein planning the print job also comprises:outputting a job description from the print job planner; and executingthe job description in a workflow controller.
 19. A method of managing aprint shop having a plurality of equipment assets, the methodcomprising: periodically querying the positioning system of each printshop equipment asset over a wireless local area network; receiving datafrom each positioning system over the wireless local area network inresponse to the query, the data including location information andidentification information for the associated equipment asset; anddetermining whether an inventory database contains a record for theequipment asset associated with the identification information andadding a new record and storing the identification information andlocation information for the equipment asset in the new record, if theinventory database does not include a record for the equipment assetassociated with the identification information, or updating the locationinformation if the inventory database includes a record for theequipment asset associated with the identification information, and thelocation information received from the positioning system is notidentical to location information stored in the record.
 20. A method ofmanaging a print shop having a plurality of equipment assets, the methodcomprising: maintaining an inventory database of the equipment assets;determining what types of print shop components are required to performthe print job; querying the inventory database to determine what printshop component assets qualify as a required type of component; accessinga print job planner to determine the availability of the qualifyingcomponent assets; assigning available qualifying component assets to theprint job in the print job planner; outputting a job description fromthe print job planner; and executing the job description in a workflowcontroller.